Scottish Gossip: Old Firm, Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Motherwell

FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Manager Brendan Rodgers won't risk losing key striker Leigh Griffiths for a longer spell by rushing him back in to the Celtic team to face Rangers from the hamstring injury that kept him out of Scotland's match against Malta. (Various)

Rodgers says it would be a "big disappointment" to lose the striker who scored 40 goals last season and who has scored seven times this term - but promises the team will cope without Griffiths if he is not fit enough to play. (Various)

With Celtic one point ahead of Rangers and with a game in hand, former Celtic midfielder Murdo MacLeod feels that if his old team beat Rangers on Saturday then the Ibrox club would need to go a long winning run of games to catch Celtic in the Premiership. (Various)

Brendan Rodgers is very much looking forward to sampling his first Old Firm match and says he has heard noise at Celtic Park that he hasn't "heard before as a manager". (National)

Rangers boss Mark Warburton says the bragging rights in Glasgow surpasses the Spurs v Arsenal derby in London. (Various)

Will Brendan Rodgers give right-back Cristian Gamboa a start against Rangers?

Warburton says the odds being strongly in Celtic's favour of a win are just the same as when the teams met in the Scottish Cup semi-final last season, where Rangers won on penalties. (Various)

Rodgers says Rangers were the better team at Hampden that day but warns that this is "a different team and certainly has a different mentality". (Various)

"Wow. Wow. You look at it and go, 'Really?'" - Mark Warburton responds to suggestions his position could be untenable if Rangers lose to Celtic. (Herald, Times)

Gordon Smith, who scored two Old Firm winners in his first season with Rangers, warns Ibrox midfielder Joey Barton that he has to back up his bold talk about outplaying Celtic skipper Scott Brown with a good performance. Accepting that while Barton's comments may have been a wind-up, Smith warns "you don't get tongue-in-cheek with Rangers and Celtic". (Sun, Scotsman)

Hamilton Accies midfielder Danny Redmond, who was injured for much of last season, wants to repay the club's faith in him by showing he was worthy of the two-year contract they awarded him in the summer. (Sun)

Celtic's Andy Lynch (left) and Johannes Edvaldsson (right) squeeze out Gordon Smith of Rangers

Aberdeen assistant manager Tony Docherty says having Jonny Hayes fit again is "almost like signing a new player". (National)

Backing the opinion of the European Professional Football League, the Scottish Professional Football League chief executive Neil Doncaster slams the "regressive and protectionist direction for the world's most prestigious club competition", a reference to Uefa's move to award four places to each of the four highest-ranked nations in the Champions League. (Various)

Despite losing Marvin Johnson to Oxford on transfer deadline day, Motherwell manager Mark McGhee says it was right for the financial wellbeing of the club, revealing he had been trying to sell the winger since Christmas. (Various)

Motherwell's match away to Ross County on Saturday will be McGhee's 930th as a manager, but the 59-year-old says he is feeling revitalised by being away with the Scotland squad in Malta. (Times)

Hibernian manager Neil Lennon questions the value of under-21 international football, arguing that "it's a bit false" to view it as the natural way for players to progress to the full team. He says: "The step up is massive from under-21 to full international football. It's a chasm." (Scotsman)

OTHER GOSSIP

Eilidh Doyle can win £20,000 in the Diamond League in Brussels on Friday

Eilidh Doyle says it was "really special" to complete a full set of medals at the Rio Olympics, her bronze for the 4x400m hurdles adding to the medals she has won at European, Commonwealth and World level. (Herald)

Doyle can earn £20,000 in winning the Diamond League prize in Brussels on Friday evening - if she finishes ahead of Cassandra Tate in the 400m hurdles at the King Baudouin Stadium. (Scotsman)

Australian centre Sam Johnson claims that his coach at Glasgow Warriors, Gregor Townsend, has "one of the smartest rugby brains" he has ever encountered. (Daily Express)

Andy Murray admits it will be tough to recover - physically and mentally - from his US Open exploits, where he lost to Japan's Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals, in time to play in Great Britain's Davis Cup tie against Argentina in Glasgow. (Various)

Scotland's first full-time female rugby professional, Jade Konkel, says "gender is totally irrelevant" in her training with male players and that everyone is focused on playing with the thistle on their jersey. (National)